The Many Uses of FIA Data Paul Van Deusen NCASI FIA National User Group Meeting Feb 23 rd – 24 th, 2010 Houston, Texas

Historical Perspective Have FIA data become more useful over time? FIA Began in the 1930's -McSweeny-McNary Act 1928 Originally used fixed area plots Changed to variable plots in 1950's Sampled states periodically since inception Sample states annually now (fixed plots) Farm Bill

Blue Ribbon Panel II (1997) Elevate priority of FIA in Forest Service Program Move to an annual inventory ASAP Private and Public Report on all lands (Private and Public) Concentrate on collection of core data Develop a strategic plan with costs and time- tables for implementation.

1998 Farm Bill Mandated suggestions made in BRP II -Implement an annual system on all lands -Develop a strategic plan -Do a 20 percent annual survey in every state -Merge FIA and FHM

The old periodic survey

The new annual inventory

Does FIA have a history of listening to outsiders? FIA listened and implemented an annual Inventory on all lands. This was a huge improvement.

Is change always good? Changing from periodic to annual was good. HOWEVER,  It was traumatic and is still not fully implemented  Many states have no plot remeasurements yet What did users say at the recent Biometrics working group meeting about change?

BWG consensus about more change FIA should not make any changes to the basic annual inventory design FIA should meet its current obligations before getting into new areas like Urban or Rangeland inventories

My uses of FIA data On line tools COLE G-COLE SOLE GForest

COLE First funded in 2002 by FHM Custom carbon reports modeled after GTR NE-343 Filters make it easy to do reports for National Forests

SOLE Funded after COLE  Funds gone 3 yrs ago SOLE & COLE have similar interfaces base on JAVA Lite versions don't need Java SOLE is somewhat like FIDO or the deceased Mapmaker.

GForest is the next generation SOLE

GForest has public and protected capabilities

One option is to simulate impact of rival mills. This is based on FIA growth plots.

Other Report Options

Two Biomass Report Options

My most recent uses of FIA data Publications (Just published or in press) 1) A new volume change index 2) A new method to estimate conversion rates 3) Using mapped plots for single owner surveys 4) Preservation vs management for Carbon Sequestration in Georgia

Black: <0.95 Dark Gray:.95 to 1.0 Light Gray: 1 to 1.05 White: > 1.05 Increasing Spatial Extent Paper 1

Knowing about conversion rates is important for FSC members (Forest Stewardship Council) Paper 2

Company Policy (for FSC members) The company shall have a...policy...to avoid trading and sourcing wood (that is) (only listing items that might be relevant to FIA) harvested in forests where high conservation values are threatened by management activities; harvested in forests being converted to plantations or non-forest use; Paper 2

JOF Publication: Encourages use of mapped plot design December, 2009

Mapped plots for single owner forest surveys Journal of Forestry Demonstrates value of mapped plots for small inventories Can handle property boundary overlap Provides better estimates of particular forest types. Paper 3

FIA Data are used to compare management vs preservation in Georgia Too close to cities Publicly owned Privately owned Public land and land close to Cities is assumed to be OFF LIMITS for management. Paper accepted by Biomass & Bioenergy Paper 4

Growth is simulated with a plot matching procedure Paper 4

Carbon Stored in Georgia Forest All Land Available Land Unmanaged Managed Unmanaged Billion tonnes CO2 equivalents US Emitted 1.57 billion tonnes C02 in Paper 4

Carbon in products by half life assumption 5 year half life year half life Paper 4

Conclusions from Georgia Carbon Study Over time forest management sequesters more carbon than preservation The amount of carbon that can be sequestered in forest products is very significant in relation to total US emissions. Wood for energy increases the advantage of management over preservation assuming it's carbon neutral (infinite half life). Paper 4

Summary FIA's most important product is data Don't sacrifice plot intensity  We could use more plots, not less  Remote sensing is good, but its not as good as plot data Do more to encourage outsiders to use the data Data doesn't wear out with use

Summary FIA ain't broke, some changes might break it, even with increased funding. FIA is still in the process of digesting the changes called for in the 1998 Farm Bill Before making more changes:  complete all 50 states  Improve biomass and carbon estimates  Fully utilize the value of remeasured plots  Use compatible methods everywhere

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